Antenna pattern beam steering is a technique proposed mainly to improve signal quality. The steering of the beam can be done through a number of techniques such as through the switching of antenna elements using diodes among other options. Beam steering techniques include manipulation of the antenna structure where the length of the antenna is changing. These techniques are usually used to steer a beam to follow the signal or to avoid interference, hence improving overall signal quality. These techniques are, however, difficult to implement mainly due to the steering mechanism that controls the hardware to achieve the desired beam direction.
Many techniques have been proposed to use the merit of the total received signal in determining the best hardware configuration that steers the beam in the desired direction. To do this, multiple measurements in real time are done in order to know the signal strength from the different directions. The multiple measurements are done in real time and therefore could introduce significant delays, especially if the user is in a fast changing environment.
Additionally, signal strength is not necessarily the best choice for the determination of best hardware configuration, especially if used alone. For example, signal strength is composed of the total desired signal as well as the noise signal combined. Therefore, the total signal strength alone may not be a fair indicator of the channel quality experienced by a specific beam pattern. Hence delayed and inaccurate decisions on the steering directions could be made.